Councillor Pauline Coakley-Webb and MP Theresa Villiers are both calling for increased funding for local maintained nurseries
By David Floyd

Hendon Town Hall

A Barnet council committee chair has called on the government to deliver on promises of funding for maintained nurseries in the borough also being championed by a local MP.

Barnet has four maintained nurseries which look after a wide range of children in the borough: the Moss Hall Nursery School and the Barnet Early Years Alliance Nursery schools, Brookhill, Hampden Way and St Margaret’s in New Barnet.

Cllr Pauline Coakley-Webb made her comments in response to a consultation on early years funding launched by the government last month as part of plans to increase funding for the sector.

She said: “We have been calling for a sustainable future of maintained nursery schools in Barnet.

“We note that the Government is consulting on increased funding that will benefit Barnet’s nursery schools and enable them to flourish.

“We are supportive of this promise of increased investment and urge government to deliver on this resource urgently.”

The proposed funding increase was praised last month by Chipping Barnet MP, Theresa Villiers, who claimed the decision was a “big step forward” in her campaign to save local maintained nurseries – but also warned that the schools face short term funding challenges.

She said: “I am really pleased the government has agreed to extra money for schools like BEYA and it will consult on a fairer allocation of funding between schools.”

She added: “The extra money, the minimum funding level, and the consultation, are big steps forward, and very much what I have asked for. If the proposals in this consultation are implemented, this should save our local maintained nursery schools.

“The issue we have now is that the extra money looks like it will not be available until at least September 2023. It is no understatement to say the need of the BEYA nurseries is acute and we need a solution that tides them over until the funding lifeline announced today comes through.”

To receive a weekly update from Barnet Post, sign-up to receive our email newsletter.

To support local journalism, become a Barnet Post member.

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else. £84 annual supporters get a print copy by post and a digital copy of each month's before anyone else.